Becomming
by Lemure Cellist
Summary: This is the first chapter in my vampire story. It was originally for Vampire; the Masquerade. It's kind of strange and wordy, even campy, but you should read it anyway.
1. Default Chapter

Margaret McKenzie

Sitting on the upper stair in the magnificent concert hall, Maggie (Maj ie) stared down at the stage in awe of the high red curtain and the intricate architectural design that gave the place a godly air. She noticed the pillars half carved into the wall that reached up to what seemed to be the heavens with the ceiling's stained glass dome, decorated with clouds and angels, looking down upon the world. All this was what she had always dreamed of, to finally perform among the great musicians of her time and with a famous orchestra in the background. Of course, this wasn't everything she wanted. She wished for fame and fortune, letting the dreams in her vast imagination come to pass. Pulling out her instrument, she began to play with her eyes closed, letting the mellow tones fill the empty theatre, which produced an echo that would have astounded the world. She let her emotions spill through the instrument, which was in truth empty, but when one pulls the long bow across the string that gap is filled and complete. Maggie often wondered why she began to play. Somewhere along the line it fit and was a part of her.   
  
She shrugged as she checked the gold pocket watch. It was still 8 hours before her musical debut and she had time to have a bite to eat and try to forget the thing she had to do. Maggie scolded herself severely for letting nerves and worries swirl around her. It was at least her 19th year of performing in front of people, if you counted when she was three and recited a short poem, which she despised, in front of a few people.   
  
God I hate poetry, she said under her breath, It needs to be burnt up into shreds of   
  
Oh you do? I rather enjoy the flow of words, it's very interesting, but you're right, it does get rather tedious at times.  
  
Horrified for a moment, she located the source of the voice. The man was standing in the shadows of a pillar where the sunlight didn't hit. She could see as he stepped closer to her that he was wearing a black leather jacket and had spiky black hair. She laughed and gave an exasperated sigh, Roger, you really need to lighten up. You didn't just come from a funeral by any chance?  
  
..What, did I scare you? I think you've been reading too many horror novels. he said, with a hint of a smile and a wink.  
  
well, yesI have nothing better to do, do you want to do lunch? she said, still not realizing that the taller Roger was having trouble keeping up with her brisk pace.   
  
Suddenly Maggie's cell phone rang. Crud, where did I put it? She checked her pockets and finally found it in the back pocket of her jeans where she had placed it so as not to lose it.   
  
Where are you? We've been waiting at the restaurant for over an hour!   
  
Oh! Sorry Pat, it completely slipped my mind. Anyway, don't wait for me, go ahead and tell everyone to order and I'll be there ASAP. Also ask the waiter to make room for another person, I invited Roger to come since I forgot about our plans.   
  
Don't worry, we didn't. We'll see ya in a bit.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
By this time she had hailed a Taxi and they were on their way. The conversation wasn't that interesting in the car and eventually became an elongated silence, which Maggie absolutely could not stand. She felt a little motion sickness from the drive on the curvy country road so decided to try to enjoy the scenery. It was a beautiful day. The cumulous clouds seemed to be lower than usual, making the curving blue sky more noticeable and surreal. The light of the bright sun on the trees made everything appear even more colorful than it already was. When the day looked like this, Maggie felt like she was trapped in a fairy tale and couldn't get out. She shuddered and slowly drifted into asleep.   
  
Roger shook Maggie gently and then harder when she didn't wake up. He didn't share her quick temper or impatient streak, but was worried that she was sick or something. Lately she had been acting even more nervous and forgetful, but he decided that it was because of stress. She was working too hard, no matter what she claimed.   
  
Hey Maggie, Maggie! We're here; you have to get up. Why didn't you tell me this place was so far away? As she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes as well as her mind and ignored Roger, Maggie began to notice that darkness had already begun to descend over the landa land she didn't know. Roger, what time is it? I didn't know, Sammy and Pat just said the place was good and I took their word for it. The driver laughed   
impatiently. How much? she said, curtly, after getting out of the taxi.  
  
It's on me, suckers, he said turning to look at the two. Her eyes widened and she shuddered. A smug sneer was on his pale face and his eyes were so deep-set you'd think he hadn't slept in weeks. The teeth that were left in his mouth were rudely stained and his outfit seemed to be worn down to worse than rags. Soon Maggie came out of the trance sort of thing and realized the driver had sped off, his sick laughter echoing in their ears. same to you jerkoff! she yelled. They both just stared after him for a while, taking in the simple scene of a few desert trees and rocks. To their left was a mountain range that appeared to rise up out of no where, as the Rocky Mountains tend to do. Before the monotonous range was a small diner where she hoped her friends waited inside.   
  
Oh good, you're finally here! What took you so long? Pat said in a sort of quiet way. He never raised his voice, nor did he have a lack of confidence. That's why she liked the tall guy who had dark brown hair and spoke with an English accent. He could always stand up for himselfthat's also the reason she hired him as her agent. Sometimes it was hard to tell who was the boss, Patrick, or Maggie. His girlfriend, Sammy, was also there.   
  
As Rog pulled a chair up for Maggie he grasped her hand in his own and to his surprise, Maggie didn't protest, the truth was that she actually needed his support. The two shared a look and she raised her eyebrow at him.   
  
So after today you're going to go on tour around the country, that is, if it works out. I can get the Carnegie theatre in Pittsburgh and   
  
As Patrick spoke Maggie smiled, staring off into nothingness and envisioning the world as it is.perfect. That is, except for the government, and the starving people, and overpopulationshe mused.  
  
Maggie, it's time to go. Margaret, Margaret!  
  
What? Huh? Oh, right Pat. Of course. After tonightOH! I've got to get ready! They got into the car and drove off, barely arriving in time for the people to do her make-up and hair. Where's my banana?  
  
Right here, Ms. Mckenzie.  
  
Someone handed her the banana and she quickly ate it. The number one cure for relaxation and stage fright are bananas, she told one of the stage directors, Forget anything anyone has ever told you about pretending the audience is naked. All that does is make you feel like the only one dressed.  
  
Lifting up the instrument, Maggie was doing everything in her power not to think about the concert, that this was what her life led up to. She knew that after this everything would be normal again, or at least easier. Recalling how stressed and worried she was when she won her first competition, Maggie smiled. It's time to wow em,' her teacher had said. Perhaps it is time to do it again,' she thought.  
  
The first note rang out through the concert hall and after three she was in sync with the orchestra, or vice versa. Her music was so different and beautiful, that the audience was transfixed with the movement of her instrument and body in an odd sort of swaying motion. No one could say that it matched that of the master, Yo-Yo Ma, but her different styles and smooth vibrato was enough to hold anyone's attention. The second piece she performed her own composition. Thankfully everyone seemed to like it. In Maggie's world time didn't exist. She discovered different dimensions of her mind each time a note was struck in tune, and for her that was nearly each one. Soon the applause came and a standing ovation, for half of the audience happened. Bravo! Encore!   
  
Maggie grinned and bowed low, and as she did her Encore, she wondered why the two TV stations weren't free. She would remember every moment of this day for years to come. Not until later did she notice the odd presence that appeared almost every moment of her waking existence  



	2. Nosferatu

Nosferatu

  
There was a screeching sound that was almost inaudible, yet it still hurt Maggie's ears. She wasn't sure she wanted to find out what the source, so she ran blindly for what she thought was her life in the pitch black tunnels dug by a people so old that even the Egyptian Pyramids were far surpassed by time. None had dared to enter this ancient place, where unknown parels lay in every stone and crevice. But now Maggie thought her time was short. She grabbed desperately for the door and barely caught herself from falling into the seemingly bottomless pit.  
  
Holding up the small lantern as she tried to catch her breath and bearings, Maggie tried to make out the options of escape, and to her dismay, there were none. Well, she could jump into the pit and hope there was a soft cushion on the bottom, or run back the way she came. Closing her eyes and trying not to let her life flash before them, some tears ran down her cheek. It was time to face the thing that had been chasing her for months. UnlessMaggie looked at the frame of the door before the pit and realized she could wedge her body between that and ease up to the roof of the passage. She did so and held onto the wall, waiting for her pursuer. There was a flash of movement while the old stench of musty air began to shift, as if it finally realized that it could no longer protest. She dared not to breath, or move. Soon her limbs started to ache and cramp. They would not hold much longer. All of a sudden she felt someone's breath on the back of her neck and hands gently lifting her to the ground. Maggie?! What are you doing up there?   
  
she cried, if there had been light, her eyes would have been as wide as they could go. I'd ask the s-same question of you.   
  
The screeching noise as if fingernails were moving over a chalkboard sounded again, only louder and closer. Without moving his lips Roger's eyes met hers and she understood, Come on, we have to get out, now!' With that he grabbed her arms and it was like she was flying, they moved so swiftly and smoothly. Soon the obstacle of the unending pit passed and they slid down some sort of slope. There had to be a way out of the caverns, but evidently Rog wasn't thinking about this aspect, because they happened upon a dead end. Suddenly Maggie was aware of another presence. The thing made her shiver and the tiny hairs on the back of her neck rose.   
  
In a flash she was pushed behind him, hard, into the stone wall. Some dust fell from the ceiling of the tunnel, and Maggie thought she was knocked out, because darkness fell over her eyes for a few minutes and then the pain came to greet her. She held up her flashlight and the breath caught in her throat. At first the creature seemed to have human form, but looking closer at it's skin so pale that it was nearly white and long black dirty fingernails curled around into a spiral shape, the realization came to her that no human could have this appearance. It's black cloak reached the ground and it looked at her with wide yellow eyes as if with an insurmountable hunger. She could see there was no trace of sanity left in those eyes. Could this be one of the damned? A Nosferatu from the old silent films that seemed to play for a few sad years and then were forgotten. Watching the Nosferatu run at Roger, Maggie pulled out the dagger she had picked up before and right as the creature had him cornered, its long and deadly fangs bared, she thrust the thing into its heart. It screeched a scream that even she could not have imagined with her large sense of the known and the unknown constantly eating at her. While Rog stared at her helplessly under the grasp of the monster, Maggie slunk back into the corner, grasping the flashlight to her chest and shivering. There wasn't enough oxygen in this low and ancient place. She soon became drowsy, and lost all consciousness.  
  
In the normal bed instone quarters that had somehow been made up for her, Maggie saw the sunlight streaming through the cracks of the wall. The covers were a deep purple as was the gown left on the bed. There was no way that she was going to put that thing on. Thankfully her black jeans and sleeveless red shirt lay next to it. She stood up and immediately fell back down, not realizing how weak she was. Margaret closed her eyes and tried to access all the strength left, concentrate it on her feet and legs. She stood up and put one foot in front of the other, struggling to pull her pants on and get her arms through the two holes in the shirt. There had to be a way out of this place, and she would find it. What did I do last night? she asked herself, wondering which hotel this was and what she had been drinking. Then her eyes wandered to a dagger caked with dark black blood.   
  
As her hand shook, Maggie looked around wildly for an exit. The thing she thought was a dream really happenedand she was a prisoner. Why had she ever wandered into the old opera house's basement? It's something someone with the intellect of a flea and maturity of an 8-year-old would do, but it seemed that curiousness always got the best of her. She searched her pockets for the cell phone and realized it had been removed, as well as her pager, beeper, compact, and chocolate bar. Damnit, Roger! You always have gotten me into deep trouble, she said, again to herself. God, there has to be some way out of this place. The dagger. Squinting her eyes and smiling, Maggie reached down towards the weapon with a self-loathing for touching the thing again. The stench of the blood was horrific and she couldn't get rid of it. She curled her long fingers around the hilt and raised it to one of the cracks in the low ceiling.   
  
She slammed the dagger into the crack as hard as she could and twisted it. Dust and rocks fell from the hole. She coughed, catching herself on the bed before falling from weakness. Her hand shook again and she stabbed at the rock. Anything was better than darkness falling and seeing that evil creature again. Perhaps even being barried alive  
  
When the sun was at its brightest in the cloudless sky, there was a hole in the place large enough for her to crawl through. Maggie pushed the steel enforced bed with all her might, but it didn't budge. Her head swam. When she imagined herself being bitten on the neck by the monster, her strength was struck anew. She climbed out of the hole, tired and exhausted. Taking a look around, she was again in the old opera house.   
  
Maggie collapsed and when she woke up later, there was an IV hooked up to her arm and all these different medical machines around her. Before falling back to sleep she saw a man with a long black leather jacket and dark spiky hair standing in the corner inconspicuously.  
  
You're relentless Margaret. Eventually either I will find you again soon, or you will be doomed to die. Roger's cold hand held hers for a few moments more as he looked at her worrisome face, confirming his evil promise. She would live, of course, but for how long, he had no idea.  



	3. The Embrace

Maggie had been in the hospital for days, maybe even weeks. She had lost count after the first, sometimes slipping into unconsciousness or waking up in a cold sweat, her nightmares reflecting the recent horrible experiences. She heard the doctor say once, Hey, isn't that the cellist that played in the hall the other night? She was dynamite. At this she smiled and came to.   
  
May I go home now?   
  
Yes, we'll take you home.  
  
No, no, that's ok. I'll call a taxi. Pulling on the clothes that had been cleaned for her, the artist got filled out what seemed to be 500 forms and left. It was time to get on with her life and forget all that was bad. Her daydreams came back a few days after she opened her door and turned the light on in her medium sized town house. It wasn't a modest place, because of the elaborate artifacts hanging throughout the place, and the $20,000 piano, which she had scraped and lived off of rice to purchase. Maggie didn't need to do that anymore, of course, because the tour money was enough to support her for 5 years to come. That didn't mean she would quit performing, maybe just put it off for a while like the old days. This aspect made her angry with herself. She was so materialistic sometimes, a spoiled brat where her parents were concerned. Things just fascinated her, well, the things that she considered to be artistic, when someone took time to make strive for perfection. There was a knock at the door and when she answered it, Roger's handsome smile was there to greet her.   
  
Holding the door open, but not moving the lock, she said, Do you realize how long I've been in the hospital? And you dare to show up at my door. I'm not even sure what to think about you, Rog. You used to be my friend, but what happened makes me wonder just what you've been keeping from me. Go back to where you came from, in the depths of hell!   
  
Wait, Margaret. You know you want me to tell you what happened down there, and I don't think you will be content until you hear, because your imagination gets the better of you, more than you know, he said, actually rubbing his hands nervously together as he used to.  
  
You make me seem like an insignificant child, who doesn't know half of what goes on in the world, she said, opening the door and walking into the kitchen. What do you want? Beer? Wine? Personally I prefer the Shirley Temple.  
  
You never did grow up, did you, Margaret? He said, waving his hand in response to the drinks.  
  
Yes, and no, she said.  
  
Don't fool yourself. At no time in your life were you carefree, even as a child, but still, it's an interesting feat.  
  
I think about it all the time, Roger, it's impossible not to. You leave for a whole two years while I am in the prime of my career, and I am left to enjoy it alone. Of course Pat and Sam were there to cheer me on, as does everyone else, but not you. Then there's that thingthat terrible thingthat happened down in that tunnels below the opera house. She broke off, suddenly bursting into tears in a sort of hysterical fit.   
  
He came over to her, not with his old walk, but with a different one that lighter, more careful. He held her in his arms, attempting to console her. I just don't understand, she said.  
  
You will, you will, and then I'll leave you alone. Again you can be aloneand find the life you've always wantedwith someone else.   
  
Maggie looked up at him, the tears of sadness and trauma changing into tears of anger. I thought you had come back to me. We could have picked up where we left off and  
  
Suddenly Roger bared his fangs, letting out a terrible hissing noise and Maggie saw his true nature. You want to pick up where we left off with this? So have I! From the moment I left you and was taken by one near the Opera house, so have I.  
  
It seemed as if a large dark cloud was lifted from her vision while Maggie stared into that terrible, monstrous face. She had known he was one of them, of course, but denial had taken its toll, and she was again in a perilous situation that had no escape. He seemed to be changing his mind.  
  
I'm too strong for you to attempt to stop me, you know.  
  
Ok, Frank. I killed the Nosferatu, and he seemed to be much stronger than you.  
  
He cleared his throat, She, actually, and yes, perhaps, but that's a different story  
  
I have time. Maggie regained her composure and sat in one of the black chairs covered with a purple blanket.   
  
He hesitated for a moment, not expecting her to be so calm and cooperative, if that was in fact what she was up to. I will tell you the whole story later, but first I must begin in the middle. When you stumbled upon the entrance to those tunnels, you stumbled upon something more than an archeological breakthrough, but the lair of a cult of Nosferatu. All that see this place who are not He searched for a word.  
  
Damned? Evil? Immortal? Vampires? Maggie suggested sarcastically, Ok, ok, I get your drift. Now they want to kill me and I have no chance whatsoever of living. THAT story line is excessively old.  
  
You stupid child, still living in your little fantasy world. The Nosferatu stood in the corner, leaning on a wooden cane, her arms crossed and an eyebrow raised. This is where Maggie recognized her, even though Samantha was now nearly bald, with a patch of unruly red hair sticking out here and there, Patrick's old girlfriend was still recognizable if you look past her terrible fate.   
  
Without realizing it, Maggie's hands were shaking. She had never known that Sam's mind was so polluted. She looked at the cane. So, the stake at least injured her I'm sorry, Samantha. She now saw the situation at hand; Roger would be killed by Samantha if she didn't share her fate. Do you really fear death, Roger? she said, nearly stammering over every word, attempting one last plea to live her life as it should be lived.   
  
Maggie started to back away from the two, indifference showing on her face that should have been utter and complete terror. When her back hit the wall and a door, she stepped onto the balcony and stood there for a moment, pretending to look out at the beautiful city far bellow. So, this is how her oh so promising life would end. At least it was the death of a romantic, looking over the city until the cement jumps up to meet you in a final battle whose winner was chosen when it began. Rogers' low baritone of a voice suddenly rang out, softly but surely, Come to me Margaret Alvariana McKenzie.   
  
The voice filled Maggie's head. All she could think about was the word, . Her head hurt when she stood still for a moment, yelling at the top of her lungs the word, and grasping her head in pain. The scream was quickly cut off when a strong hand covered her mouth. Maggie was unable to move. Her muscles relaxed as she felt the prick of two needles go into her neck. They seemed to pierce it deeply, but she only felt pain for a moment. Then the insurmountable ecstasy of the embrace filled every muscle of Maggie's body, except for a small voice in her brain that was now asking the question, Why may I not die? Roger bit his wrist and forced it to her mouth. Disgusting sour blood, like fire or torrential rains flooded down her throat. She tried to choke, but he wouldn't let her. The thick liquid coursed through her veins from the liver: Sweet life, wonderful salvation, beautiful ecstasy.  
  
Maggie collapsed, staring up at the stars with a wide-eyed and glassy look as she labored to hold onto the breath of life. She would not give in, even though she knew in her heart there was no possible escape. Even now she could feel the vampiric blood coursing through with a new found power that came with it. Soon it would be over and the change complete. What kind of evil had befallen God to ever create a creature such as this? She closed her eyes, mourning death softly as she plotted that of others. Roger would die after he taught all that was required of her in this new life. Samantha would perish even sooner.


End file.
